Customs Traditions of India During Greeting

What is Namaste?

Among all the countries in Asia, India could be placing among top 2 or 3 most tradition country. We will first start out slow with India. In this article, I will cover the greeting custom in India. According to psychology, 95% of the time, the first impression never changes. For that reason I feel like this is a very important subject.

If you already travel to India before, then you already know about the customs of "Namaste," the traditional greeting in India. This gesture consists of pressing both of palm together and place it chest level high.

After your palms are in place, you should follow it with a slight nod of your head. Now, the slight nod is different from a bow. Bowing is only for Japanese or Chinese, but India does not require you to do it as the matter in fact, you should never bow.

You can do this gesture to say: good morning, afternoon, evening, and even good bye (very convenience).

You may ask, "Do I have to say anything while doing this?" I would answer "Yes and also depending on who you are talking to." For example, if you are talking to a person that is Hindu, then you should said "Namaste." When you are speaking with a Muslim, it is best to said "Salaam Aleikum." Lastly, if the person you are talking to is Sikhs; then your reply is "Sat Sri Akal."

The different between Sahib and Ji is...

As another sign of respect, Hindu people like to attach the word "Sahib" to a male name and "Ji" to a female name. For example, let say you name is John; then I would greet you as "John-Sahib." Or, if you are Jessica (female name), then I would greet you as "Jessica-Ji." Simple, right?

When trying to call someone, you should never use his/her first name unless he /she is a close friend. Always remember to use Mr., Miss, or Mrs. when talking to somebody who is superior to you, using title is a must for people such as professor, doctor, sir, or madam.

Right now, you are probably saying, "How do I know whose is whose, everyone looks Indian to me?" Well, my reply is depending on who you see eat more curry. I'm just kidding (my India friend will kill me for making a joke like that hehe).

The most common way to find out is by the name of each person. Hindu tends to the last name of: Das, Sen, Roy, Singh, Gill, Patel, and Rao. As for Muslim, the most common name for man is: Muhammed, Ali, Hussein, and Khan. For the women, they have Jan stick the end of their name. Lastly, if you want to identify if a person is Sikh or not, then you should look for the turban on his head or a metal bracelet on his right arm. Most of religious and traditional Sikh will wear one of these items.

Who can I give a handshake?

India men are quite Westernize, in turn; they will often reach out a shake your hand. The only thing you should remember that handshake tend to be with the same sex. An India man will shake hand with another man; however, he will not do so with a woman.

So, if you are a foreigner woman, you should avoid initiating a handshake to the man. With an Indian woman a handshake is okay, she more than willing to shake hand with a foreign woman, and sometime even embrace you with a hug.

This also raises another point to the man. You should avoid making physical contact to a woman in both formal and informal situations. It is best to keep your hands to yourself. Meaning, that you not should offer a handshake to a woman, just use "Namaste" and you be fine.

When between a man to a man, an Indian friend want to embrace the friendship between you and him, he may give you a pat on the back and even a slap as well. Be careful and not to mistake this with a fight to the death, there is no fight club in India. Well, not any that I know of (hehe).

Before traveling to India, you should stock up on business cards because like in China, India people like to exchange business cards when they are first meeting with each other. This customs is for any events not just for business setting.

A side note for the behavior in the temple or formal occasions. If you are a guest of honor to an event, when you just arrive people like to wrap a garland of flower around your neck. After wearing it for a few minutes, there are two things you can do, either give it to somebody else or hold it in your arm. Never and I repeat never leave the garland behind, because this is consider a sign of disrespect.

So, what do you think about the article? Good, bad or ugly. If you like to leave any comment, feel free to do so. Thank you for joining me today. From where I am and wherever you are, have a good night and good luck everybody.

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